Winning first six starts w/ERA under 1.00

'09 Zack Greinke 0.40
'08 Cliff Lee 0.81 (won CY Award)
'00 Randy Johnson 0.93 (won CY Award)
'97 Pedro Martinez 0.79 (won CY Award)
'91 Roger Clemens 0.73 (won CY Award)

almost 3 years ago Scott McKinney 19 comments 1 recs |

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(Stolen from Baseball Tonight)

Also ’81 Fernando Valenzuela 0.33.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on May 4, 2009 10:41 PM EDT reply actions

He really is getting up to late 90's Pedro on the must watch....

scale

It’s a different kind of must watch though…Pedro had pitches where you were just in awe or the movement/velocity. With Zack, its just like systematic destruction.

Fire Hillman

by billybeingbilly on May 4, 2009 10:50 PM EDT reply actions

Whoa.

I really don’t know what else to say.

Royals baseball. Where .260 would be orgasmic.

The General Theory of Royaltivity

by kabrink on May 4, 2009 11:32 PM EDT reply actions

Just say he's the best pitcher in the history of baseball

Cy Young, Roger Clemens and Walter Johnson were half-assed hurlers compared to Zack.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on May 4, 2009 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions

and those guys were juicers

Clemens – hgh, steroids

Young and Johnson – strychnine, cocaine, caffeine, and a bit of laudanum for the pain

I’m quite sure it’s true, because someone told me – forgot his name

Royals baseball. Where .260 would be orgasmic.

The General Theory of Royaltivity

by kabrink on May 5, 2009 8:39 AM EDT up reply actions

Pedro

Had that midget guy.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 5, 2009 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions

i thought the midget came later

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 5, 2009 10:52 AM EDT up reply actions

The even more impressive list which was shown on sportscenter was,

ERA under .50 after first 6 starts.

2009 – Zack Greinke .40
1981 – Fernando Valenzuela 0.33
1913 – Walter (forgot last name, but is famous and i had heard of.. and forgot to dvr/rewind) with a 0.31

"I can resist everything but temptation." - oscar wylde

by cfizzle on May 4, 2009 11:38 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah, that's a good one too

Won first six starts with an ERA under 0.50 (since earned runs became official stat in 1913

1981 Fernando Valenzuela 0.33
1913 Walter Johnson 0.35
2009 Zack Greinke 0.40

So Greinke is almost as good as Walter Johnson (one of the five best pitchers to ever play the game). I’ll take that.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on May 4, 2009 11:41 PM EDT up reply actions

And I'd go out on a limb

and suggest that the lineups that Fernando and Walter were facing weren’t this year’s Rangers, Blue Jays or White Sox. There should be a stat that adjusts for difficulty of opponents.

I think we might be watching the best stretch of pitching in baseball history. If he keeps up anything close to this, he’ll win the Cy Young and I suspect the Royals might win the division. Not to mention the attendance increase will ease any fears Glass might have about shelling out for mid-season help and FAs next year.

by Big Guy on May 5, 2009 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Johnson and Valenzuela were pitching in very low run environments

But MLB in recent years has turned into an increasingly low run environment as well. Runs per game have decreased each of the last three years. I don’t know about this year. But if the trend continues, we could be in another low-offense era.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on May 5, 2009 12:50 AM EDT up reply actions

offense is up so far this season

so much so that, as has been posted here before, intelligent analysts think there are statistical reasons to suspect that the ball might be juiced again.

If so, that makes Greinke’s accomplishments all the more impressive, although it also puts KCs offense in a different light, too.

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

by Matt Klaassen on May 5, 2009 1:14 AM EDT up reply actions

Oh right, that juiced ball thing

Yeah, runs must be up. Don’t know how I feel about the juiced ball theory, but it’s possible.

If so, that makes Greinke’s accomplishments all the more impressive, although it also puts KCs offense in a different light, too.

All I care about is where players and the team sit relative to league average. Right now the team is just about average offensively. And, of course, average is average regardless of the run scoring environment.

The immoderate moderator

by Scott McKinney on May 5, 2009 2:32 AM EDT up reply actions

those ERA's are nearly double zacks.

"I can resist everything but temptation." - oscar wylde

by cfizzle on May 4, 2009 11:39 PM EDT reply actions

yeah, this is just plain amazing

"I'll take some Coco with that please"

by RoyalJHWKR on May 5, 2009 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

History, Baby; History.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on May 5, 2009 4:26 AM EDT reply actions

Zack has been spellbinding to watch this season...

…and the only name that scares me on the above list is Cliff Lee.

I'd rather be watching baseball.

by Sisquatch Kids on May 5, 2009 9:39 AM EDT reply actions

Lee 29

Zack 25 in the seasons being discussed….don’t worry

by I need more Esteban on May 5, 2009 11:17 AM EDT up reply actions

Zack is destroying, and I love it.

I’m old enough to remember the good times firsthand, and lucky that those were my most impressionable years. I’m also young enough to have been scarred during the recent failures, and had to beg friends to go to games with me. This early stretch feels really good. It’s nice not to be in a hole after April.

I’m happy for Zack.
I’m happy for the team.
I’m happy for KC.
I’m happy for me.

Don't Stop Believing!

by KC Chris on May 5, 2009 11:15 AM EDT reply actions